Synthesis anarchism
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Synthesis anarchism, also known as united anarchism,
History
Since the 1890s, there had been a drive within the anarchist movement to foster cooperation between the various
Over the subsequent decades, Max Nettlau developed this principle into a call for anarchists to unite into a single organisation, which would preserve individual autonomy and encourage mutual aid between its members.[3] The principle of individual autonomy was particularly central to the organisational ideas of Sébastien Faure and Emma Goldman, as well as to the Japanese "pure anarchists" that advocated for a more loosely-organised grouping. The Russian anarchist Volin considered all anarchist schools of thought to be valid, advocating for a pluralistic organisation that unites anarchists of different tendencies behind a set of common principles and goals.[4] While Goldman considered the best path to be a loose framework that extended autonomy to each tendency, Volin and Faure would go on to develop a "synthesis" of the different tendencies, with the aim of creating an organisational platform that would be acceptable to the entire anarchist movement.[5]
Revolution in Ukraine
Following the October Revolution, many Russian anarchists attempted to escape the Red Terror by fleeing to Ukraine. They established their headquarters in Kharkiv, which became the center for their campaign to unify the disorganised anarchist movement into a coordinated revolutionary organisation,[6] which they hoped would be able to combat the rise of Bolshevism.[7] This campaign resulted in the establishment of the Nabat Confederation of Anarchist Organizations, which quickly spread throughout all of Ukraine's major cities.[8]
The statutes of the Nabat were drawn up by
Despite its establishment according to the principles of "united anarchism", as the Ukrainian Revolution progressed, the Nabat developed into a more tightly-organised federation with its own unitary policy. The Nabat's secretariat acted as the organisation's executive, directing the organisation's membership and overseeing its resources. It quickly threw its support behind the Makhnovist movement and the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine, which it hoped would spearhead the organisation of the Ukrainian anarchist movement.[13]
Synthesism versus platformism
After the Russian and Ukrainian anarchist movements were forced into exile, they experienced a split over organisational principles.[14] Inspired by the model of the Nabat, Volin had proposed the organisation of an anarchist federation, which would account for discipline and collective responsibility by means of "natural, free and technical centralisation",[15] while also accounting for a diversity of anarchist tendencies within the organisation.[16] But members of Delo Truda quickly rejected Volin's "synthesis" as incoherent and out of step with anarchist theory.[17] Within the Soviet Union itself, former members of the Nabat had also since gravitated away from Volin's organisational principles.[18]
In June 1926, Peter Arshinov, Nestor Makhno and Ida Mett collaborated on the drafting of The Organisational Platform, which called for the establishment of a specific anarchist organisation according to the principles of ideological and tactical unity, in order to combat chronic disorganisation within the anarchist movement.[19] In April 1927, Volin penned a reply to the Platform, which was co-signed by other exiled anarchists such as Senya Fleshin and Mollie Steimer.[20] The Reply criticised the Platform as running counter to anarchist ideology, accusing the platformists of desiring to establish a centralised anarchist political party and eventually a state, which Volin directly compared to Bolshevism.[21] Volin, Fleshin and Steimer went on to accuse the Delo Truda group of anti-intellectualism and even antisemitism.[22]
In the autumn of 1927, at a congress of the French Anarchist Union, the platformist majority within the organisation overruled the synthesist minority. The French Synthesists, led by
Formation of synthesis federations
In 1927, the
In 1968, the
References
- ^ Avrich 1971, pp. 204–205; Malet 1982, p. 159.
- ^ van der Walt & Schmidt 2009, p. 244.
- ^ van der Walt & Schmidt 2009, pp. 244–245.
- ^ van der Walt & Schmidt 2009, p. 245.
- ^ van der Walt & Schmidt 2009, pp. 245–246.
- ^ Avrich 1971, p. 204.
- ^ Malet 1982, p. 159.
- ^ Avrich 1971, p. 204; Malet 1982, pp. 159–160.
- ^ Avrich 1971, p. 205; Malet 1982, p. 159.
- ^ Avrich 1971, p. 205; Malet 1982, p. 159; Skirda 2002, p. 123.
- ^ Avrich 1971, p. 205; Malet 1982, pp. 159–160.
- ^ Avrich 1971, p. 205.
- ^ van der Walt & Schmidt 2009, p. 257.
- ^ Schmidt 2013, pp. 64–65; Skirda 2004, pp. 277–278.
- ^ Skirda 2002, p. 123.
- ^ Skirda 2004, pp. 277–278.
- ^ Skirda 2002, pp. 123–124.
- ^ Schmidt 2013, p. 66; Skirda 2002, p. 131.
- ^ Skirda 2002, p. 124.
- ^ Skirda 2002, p. 132.
- ^ Skirda 2002, pp. 132–133.
- ^ Skirda 2002, p. 134.
- ^ Skirda 2002, pp. 135–136.
- ^ Skirda 2002, p. 136.
- ^ Schmidt 2013, pp. 63–64.
- ^ Schmidt 2013, pp. 65–66.
- ^ van der Walt & Schmidt 2009, p. 246.
- ^ Schmidt 2013, p. 79.
- ^ Schmidt 2013, pp. 89–90.
- ^ Schmidt 2013, pp. 92–93.
- ^ Schmidt 2013, p. 93.
Bibliography
- OCLC 1154930946.
- Malet, Michael (1982). Nestor Makhno in the Russian Civil War. OCLC 8514426.
- Schmidt, Michael (2013) [2012]. Cartography of Revolutionary Anarchism. OCLC 881111188.
- OCLC 490977034.
- OCLC 60602979.
- OCLC 1100238201.
Further reading
- Faure, Sébastien (1927). "The Anarchist Synthesis". Translated by McNab, Nestor – via The Anarchist Library.
- Group of Russian Anarchists Abroad (March 1926). "The Problem of Organization and the Notion of Synthesis". Delo Truda. Translated by McNab, Nestor – via The Nestor Makhno Archive.
- Shantz, Jeffrey (2010). "Anarchist Synthesis". In Ness, Immanuel (ed.). The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest. p. 1. ISBN 9781405198073.
- Volin (1924). "Synthesis (Anarchist)". In Faure, Sébastien (ed.). Anarchist Encyclopedia. Translated by Wilbur, Shawn P. Paris: Librairie internationale – via Libertarian Labyrinth.
- Volin (April 1924). Faure, Sébastien (ed.). "On Synthesis". La Revue anarchiste. No. 25–27. Translated by Wilbur, Shawn P. Paris – via Libertarian Labyrinth.
- Volin; et al. (April 1927). "Reply to the Platform". Noir Et Rouge. Translated by McNab, Nestor. Paris – via The Nestor Makhno Archive.
External links
- "Synthesis Anarchism / Anarchism Without Adjectives" (an archive with texts related to synthesis anarchism as well as anarchism without adjectives).
- "J.3.2 What are "synthesis" federations?". An Anarchist FAQ.
- "Especifismo and Synthesis/ Synthesism" by Felipe Corrêa
- J.3.4 Why do many anarchists oppose the "Platform"? on An Anarchist FAQ